Recent history has introduced a period of heightened military conflicts, uprisings and contentions. This has resulted in many shifts in global patterns. Competitiveness between empires has intensified and further complicated the quest for understanding the global political dynamic. In his book, Postmodern Imperialism: Geopolitics & the Great Games, author Eric Wahlberg seeks to clear the air. The author’s main premise is to illustrate the shift from a bi-polar global dynamic, once dominated by the US on one end and the Soviet Union on the other, to a unipolar world, where the US is largely uncontested in its position as the global hegemony. Proxy wars, insurgent movements and radical militants have filled this void, which, as the author argues, has pinned the US and its main ally against anti colonial movements, Israel, against a loosely defined cooperative of movements and states, as well as a ambiguous enemy – the terrorist.

The author presents a historical backdrop from which he draws his assertions. This stretches from the earliest expression of the Great Games to their modern manifestations, as the Wars on Terror, and the neoconservative crusade for democracy. The consequence is increased exploitation of resources and the rise of untraceable insurgent networks that target their national governments as much as western societies. The double-dealings and inconsistencies of the West are evident here, which taints the reputation of western civilization. This is underscored by the author’s sympathies with the anti-capitalistic Soviet philosophical foundation.

The book is divided into five segments, organized chronologically, in which the author elaborates on the historical backdrop of the Great Game dynamic which has led to the current landscape. Wahlberg begins with the 19th century onset of the great games as played out between the British and Russian empires, followed by the communist revolution, WWII, the Cold War and the post 9/11 era. The author focuses on the British tactic of pinning forces against each other, a strategy which has been arguably adopted by the US in modern times, evidenced by its double-dealings with authoritarians and the radical insurgent movements threatening to depose them.

The three major sections in the book are categorized as GG I, II and III. GG stands for Great Games, and each numeric represents a period in time, in respective chronological order, beginning with the games as they panned out in the early 19th century, onto the WWII period, and finally, to GGIII, the post-cold war era. GGI refers to imperialism that took place during the nineteenth century until WWII. GGII covers the Cold War in which the two global superpowers, the USA and the USSR, competed for global influence. GGIII is focused on the post-Cold War era beginning in 1989 to the present. Imperialism cannot be discussed without dissecting the role of the British Empire, a main focus of the author throughout the book. The British assumed hegemonic power by constructing a global economic network which would serve the interests of the core to the misfortune of the periphery, and where diplomacy failed, the use of military power was utilized. The key focus of the book is the Middle East and Central Asia, “the heart of Eurasia”. It has been argued that the Eurasian heartland is a key geographic location; in other words, he who that controls the heartland controls the world.

The author suggests that in modern times, Islamic movements have replaced communism as the new anti-imperial force. The two primary agents of imperialism, argues Wahlberg, is an alliance between the US and Israel. The war on Iraq, and subsequent interventions in Libya and Egypt, are expressions of this new imperialism, and perhaps fall right into the hands of the main players in the global Great Games. The author suggests increasing tensions and growing insurgencies as a direct result of a stubborn imperial alliance between the US & Israel. Rising tensions in the Middle East and the growth of radical Islam in Central Asia are indicators of this reality. The US’ inconsistent foreign policy will only further retaliatory measures. The players of the great game must decide once and for all what is of greater priority; playing a fair game, or winning.

I praise Christianity in our Arab community for their loyalty to social liberalism.

Islam is a socially liberal and collectively egalitarian philosophy.

This Wahhabi Saudi twist is dogma and is likened to Limbaugh’s Christianity.

Let us show the world the truth and enlightenment of intellectual islam; and how it is incompatible with extremism and political control.

Was it not Prophet Muhammad who sought to weed out the dogma and supremacy of his contemporary religious groups?

Peace Be Upon Him.

Our duty as liberal and open-minded Muslims is to purify the image of Islam by advertising our egalitarianism, freedom and artistic inspiration.

May Syria, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq be free of the political dogma of fanatical Islam and western expansionism.

Long live the legacy of liberalism (not neoliberalism) and the Christian traditions of the Middle East. Islam and Christianity have birthed the most beautiful gifts in the Middle East and it will be these two cultures which protect it.

This article is a little dogmatic in its perspective. While it is evident that leftist and non-western-democratic leaders in the world are blaming foreign conspiracies for the uprisings in their country, it isn’t exactly evident where those leaders stand ideologically and whether they can even be reduced to one category of ‘dictators’. Impartiality – in journalism – requires that perception supersedes nationalist inclinations and prejudice, therefore encourage us to look at the man in the mirror – who is to say American (and other Western-democratic) politicians are not influenced by foreign conspirators (democratic or non)? Democracy is an ideal we strive for – utopia where all individuals prosper individually. We don’t even have that (completely) in America and Europe, where a range of embarrassing inequalities complement a wealthy upper class – to be mild. That’s precisely why we have movements that raise awareness about racism in America. So why then are Western politicians playing double standards – expecting other nations to be perfect democracies – pinning them up against this idealized form of democracy not all Americans even enjoy. And why does private media go out of its way to encourage imperialist attitudes toward the world? In a world of interests, the result in conflict. Our job is to find a moderate middle ground – a path towards an ideal democratic system for the entire that caters to all not just some – that recognizes all not just some – that understands ALL – not just some. I believe the forces working against this are in the West, and the fundamentalism that arises in the East is in retaliation. Both evils must be equally quelled.